Eastern Sussex Ducks Unlimited hosts banquet, auction
Story Location:
1 Kings Creek Circle
Rehoboth Beach, DE
United States
About 150 people raised an estimated $38,000 during the Eastern Sussex Ducks Unlimited annual banquet and live auction.
The evening event took place Dec. 2, at the Rehoboth Beach Country Club. There were silent auctions, raffles and games during the cocktail hour prior to the dinner and live auction.
Kevin Halsey, Eastern Sussex Ducks Unlimited chairman, said the money will be used to support the group’s most important goal – conservation. He said all attendees get a one-year membership to Ducks Unlimited as part of the price of admission.
The highlight of the evening, said Halsey, was the live auction of several custom handcrafted duck decoys by Steve Lakey, Richard Keck and George Hukill, and a chocolate lab puppy.
In partnership with the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation, said Halsey, the club is working to protect properties against development indefinitely via easements. The partnership helped acquired an easement on a 40-acre parcel in the Georgetown/Millsboro area in 2015.
Additionally, said Halsey, the club expects to close on two more easements in early 2017, totaling a combined 530 acres. One is in the same vicinity as the 2015 easement and the other is near Greenwood. These three properties combined will permanently protect more than 100 acres of forested and other wetland habitats, Halsey said.
Ducks Unlimited’s most recent project in Sussex was the enhancement/restoration of approximately 10 acres of shallow, moist soil wetlands on a farm near Lewes, said Halsey, who estimated the group has conserved approximately 5,000 acres in Sussex County through protection, restoration and enhancement.
